6 chronic illness fears

We all know fear when it comes to chronic illness. Here are some fears we have to deal with because of our illnesses.

The fear it will get worse

We know illnesses tends to ebb and flow. We have had times when it is worse. And so the fear. What if it gets worse again? What if it gets worse than it Ever has been? What if it continually gets worse as I age?

And we know how hard it was to adapt and cope with our bad times. And so we fear the Impact of what will happen if it gets worse. We can live in this fear. We have to live our lives in the now, but it doesn’t mean this fear isn’t something we think about.

The fear we will no longer be able to work

Our health may be at the point where it is difficult to work and we are just trying our best to hold onto our job. We fear the income instability it will cause. Being unable to pay our bills and obligations. Fear that we will lose an important part of our self-worth. Fear the disability process which as we all know isn’t an easy process to endure. And what do you do in the meantime? Starve? It is a lot to stress over and worry about.

We fear we will lose our partner

Divorce rate for chronically ill is 75% which is quite a bit over the norm. Poor health is a constant stressor and the financial instability adds another stressor. We may have difficulties with our partner understanding as is. Or had arguments about these issues. And we fear we can’t communicate our side, our worries, our fears.

We fear it will never get better than it is

If we are in a particular bad spot where the symptoms are severe and we are not functioning well at all… we fear it will never get better than it is. No one, absolutely no one, wants to live in survival mode.

We fear the impact our health has on those around us

This leads to a lot of guilt, low self-worth and self-hate as well. But we fear the impact it has on our kids, our spouse, our families and friends.

We fear doing things for fear it will lead to pain

This is what is called avoidance behavior. When we do not do something not because of the pain in the moment, but because we anticipate it will cause pain. We fear a flare. We fear we will immediate regret it. Or will suffer for days after. But sometimes we are right. And it is a matter of knowing our limits and pacing.